What's a Haston Doing in a Place Like This?
In this post, I will tell you the story of the Beginning and End of his earthly life.
In the following post, I will tell you the story of the “DASH” between the beginning and the end.
Who Was Luther Haston?
At the time this “Luther Haston” was alive, it appears that there were a couple other “colored” (black) people in Tennessee with the name Luther Haston (or similar surname spellings). There is ample evidence to prove that the Luther Haston, who is the subject of this article, was a three-month-old baby living with his mother and grandparents in Rutherford County (Murfreesboro), TN, when the census was taken. You will see that 1900 census record below.
Was he a descendant of a slave who had been owned by a Haston? That is possible, but not for sure. Emancipated slaves were free to choose the name of their choice. Yes, most did keep the previous slaver’s family name. That was the easiest thing to do. However, some ex-slaves chose to express their independence from slavers by taking a surname of their own choosing, such as a name associated with a white person or family they respected.
Our White County, TN Daniel Haston never owned slaves, though several of his neighbors did. Other than Daniel’s son-in-law John Austin, who married his daughter Catherine, none of Daniel’s first-generation family members who remained in Tennessee were slave owners. That may be due to his Mennonite upbringing. And I’m not aware of any pre-Civil War Hastons in Tennessee who owned slaves, but maybe I’ve just never encountered any of them in my research.
The Haston name wasn’t (and still isn’t) one of the more common names in Tennessee. From the many Middle Tennessee records I have researched, I don’t recall ever finding a 19th-century Haston in a Tennessee record who wasn’t a descendant of Daniel Haston. So, black families in Middle Tennessee with the Haston family name are puzzling to me.
So, I am left to wonder if Luther Haston was one of my cousins by birth or by an adopted name change.
Luther Haston - The Beginning of His Earthly Life
1900 – Baby Luther Haston and His Mama
Luther Haston’s Parents – December 10, 1898
“C” at the end of the record = they were both “colored”
“Morton” (spelling by the court clerk) may have been “Martin.” Was Luther’s father a Hastings or a Haston, as on the 1900 census and other records for son Luther? As per the spelling of Addie’s family name on the 1900 census, Addie’s maiden name is misspelled here – perhaps Martin’s was also. Addie could not read or write, and probably Martin could not either.
The number 204 was the location of the house where this family lived, and the 213 was the number of the family (for census district 13) that lived there. They were living in Rutherford County, TN where Murfreesboro was and is the county seat.
This Luther Haston was the grandson of Lawyer and Mollie Smally and the son of 18-year-old Addie Haston. According to this census, she had been married for two years and only had one child. Luther was 3/12 of a year old, born March 1900. Obviously, he was (S) single. He and both of his parents were born in Tennessee.
Where was Martin, Addie’s husband, and Luther’s father?
According to the census, he was not living with Addie and her infant Luther at the time of the census. I have found no other information about Martin (or Mortin) L. Hastings (or similar “Hast__” spellings). I’m assuming that he either died or abandoned his wife and baby boy. Having an absentee father might help to explain the criminal behavior that characterized Luther’s life.
According to a 1912 death certificate for a one-year-old child, John Alexander, Addie Smalling (maiden name) was the mother, and John Alexander was the father. They lived in the rear of Number 223 of 2nd Avenue South in the 12th Ward in Nashville, TN (30 or so miles northwest of Murfreesboro). There is evidence to cause me to think this Addie Smalling was Luther’s (remarried) mother.
Luther Haston - The End of His Earthly Life
September 1, 1938 – Died of Pneumonia From 2nd Degree External Burns
September 1, 1938 – Burial in the Penitentiary Graveyard
It is estimated that over 500 bodies are buried in this graveyard, the Brushy Mountain Prison Cemetery. All plots were unmarked and did not have headstones to identify the deceased.
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